TLOU : A unexpected Christmas
by Carl Solo
Summary: After living together in Jackson County for 4 years, Ellie is starting to developed new feelings for Joel. So when Christmas time arrives, she decides that maybe it was time to act on them. Do Joel will be okay with that, or he just tells Ellie that he doesn't love her that way. This is an Ellie/Joel paring story I hope you like it.


**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog.**

 **A/N :** **Hi, this is my third one-shot so I hope that you liked. This is a Drama fic story with Ellie & Joel paring. Is another holiday one, but this one is for Christmas time. I don't know if I going to do more of this at the moment. But if you wanted more or have any suggestion for one that I can work on it, you're welcome on let me know and I think about it. Of course that is going to depend on the inspiration I got and if I have the time for it. I always like to read or write long stories, but I also want to try to do some one-shot to see how it goes. Is be fun write those 3, so I hope that you like them as much I did to write it. **

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**TLOU : An Unexpected Christmas**

 ***Winter***

It's been 4 years since Ellie and Joel came to live in Jackson County with Joel's brother Tommy. After all that happened to them, life there has been nice and good for them. Even if the town gets attacked by bandits, here and there, things have been really quiet. The first year in town, Joel and Ellie lived with Tommy and Maria in their house, but now they have their own house and live together as a family. But during all that time, things have started to change with them. Joel always tries to protect Ellie and give her a normal life. He even tried to treat her like a daughter at first, but Ellie always reminded him that they were just friends and partners. So after a while, Joel tried to keep things that way. Now that another Christmas has come to Jackson, Ellie is sure that this one is going to be different this time.

Ellie is in front of a little counter inside the town hall, asking for a drink. "Hey you?... can you give me one of those?" she asks the man serving the drinks to people at the Christmas party this year. Maria and Tommy have been doing one every year, to keep some of the old traditions alive and to celebrate another good year in town.

The man serving people drinks walks toward her. "Aren't you too young to drink this?" asks the man on the other side of the counter.

Ellie rolls her eyes, then looks at the man. "Really, Trevol?... I'm 19 now… besides, Joel and I killed more infected out there than all the people in this town. So yeah... I think that I'm old enough to drink that," answers Ellie, glaring at the man and pointing to the bottle behind him.

"I would give her what she asked for if I were you, man. You don't want to piss her off, do you?" says a young man leaning against the counter beside her.

Ellie turns her head and looks at the newly-arrived man. "I don't need your help… Wong. I can take care of myself," says Ellie, giving him a look.

The young man raises his hands in a defensive posture. "Hey, don't shoot!..." he says with a smile. "Believe me, I know... You're like your old man, and-"

Ellie leans toward him. "He's not my old man!... Joel is not my father... we're just partners, that's all. How many times do I have to tell you that?" says Ellie, turning back to look at the other man.

The young man gets a little nervous. "Hey, hey… I'm sorry, okay… I don't mean anything bad by that."

Ellie doesn't say anything more. She is getting tired of some people thinking that Joel is her father. She doesn't know why, but it bothers her a lot, especially now. So the best way to forget all that is to return her attention to the man behind the counter. "Hey you!... are you going to give me that drink or what?..." The man gets a little nervous at her tone, so he grabs a glass, pours the liquor in it, and gives it to Ellie.

Ellie grabs the glass and looks at it. "Are you sure that you want to drink that?... it can be a little strong for you... you know," says the man.

"You don't need to worry - I've had this before, okay…" says Ellie, turning around to watch the party.

As some snow fell during the week, Tommy and Maria decide to use the meeting hall for the party this year. They assigned some people to prepare the place. They are using the stage for the local band, which is composed of a few of Jackson's people that play some instruments and like to sing some old country music. They also have a DJ in charge of playing some old CDs for the younger people. The place is decorated with old Christmas ornaments and lights. The younger kids made some of their own, and those are being used as well.

They also decorated the bar, and put up a Christmas tree with lights. As the time passes, more people come to the hall to drink and dance. They have food for everyone, too. Ellie is looking at the people from the bar. She starts to get a little jealous of how people are enjoying themselves and dancing. And she is still waiting for someone to come to the party.

The young man grabs his drink and turns around to look at the party, too. He starts checking out the people dancing on the floor. He takes a sip of his drink and asks shyly, "So you came... with Joel again?" When Ellie doesn't respond, he asks something else. "Ummm… where is he… I didn't see him tonight?"

Ellie takes a sip of her drink and starts to cough a little. Maybe drinking this wasn't a good idea for her, because Ellie knows that she is going to be sorry later. Ellie doesn't know why so many people like to drink this when it tastes so horrible. But she thinks that drinking this will make her forget about Joel not showing up. She doesn't really know how to answer the man, since she's been asked the same question since she arrived to the party. Ellie doesn't know why, but she has the feeling that Joel has been avoiding her since that day: the day when they went to the forest to pick up a Christmas tree for their house.

( Flashback )

Two weeks ago, Ellie asked Joel if they could go to pick out a pine tree to put in the living room and add some decorations to it. She remembers people doing that for the Christmas holidays. Tommy and Maria told her one day that they've been trying to keep some of the old traditions in the town, so that way, people can relax a little and think about the good things they had in the old days. After asking him for an entire week, Joel agreed to go. So he asked Tommy if he can use one of the horses to go to the forest to pick up a pine tree for the house, even though the town's been celebrating that day for the last few years by throwing a party. Joel and Ellie never put up a Christmas tree in their house. Ellie always wanted to put one up, but Joel always insisted that it gave him sad memories, so Ellie stopped insisting too much. But this year when Ellie asked again, Joel decided to let Ellie put one up at the house this time. Ellie was so happy that the same day she asked Joel, she wanted to go out and cut one down, just like she'd heard that people did in the old times.

After they went a few miles away from the town, Joel was trying to find a good and small one that will fit in their home. Lucky for them, the snow that's been falling isn't too deep for their horse. Ellie is riding behind Joel with her arms around his waist and her head against his back. Both of them are wearing their winter coats with the hoods covering their heads. The temperature is low, maybe 30 or 40 degrees that day, so both of them put on their winter clothes before going out of town. Even with the cold winter in the morning, Ellie feels so warm by being so close to Joel. She always feels warm when she's close to Joel, but she doesn't know why this time feels different.

She's been feeling strange for the past few months now. But this time, it feels like something else... something she doesn't understand. It feels like she's having some butterflies in her stomach, and she doesn't know why. Joel and Ellie have been together for the last 4 years, so she doesn't know after all that time why she's starting to feel something different for Joel.

Ellie wishes she could keep holding Joel like that forever. And even better, she prefers to be back home with Joel on the bed, snuggling and with her head on his chest, hearing his strong heart. And passing the night in his warming arms, and maybe… just maybe... doing something more.

"Hey, kiddo… are you still awake?" asks Joel, taking Ellie out of her fantasy thoughts.

"Ummm?" She abruptly moves her head away from his back. "What did you say?"

"I asked you if you were awake?" says Joel, turning his head a little to see her face. Are you alright?... you haven't said anything for the last 20 minutes, and that has to be a record for you," says Joel, teasing her a little. Ellie moves one arm from around him and hits him on the back softly. "Owww!... hey, that hurt," says Joel in protest.

Ellie giggles at that. "Yeah, right!... I didn't even hit you that hard," she says with a smile on her face. "Besides, you're the strongest man in the world, so that was nothing. And yes, I was awake… I was just... thinking," answers Ellie with a blush on her face. Lucky for her, Joel doesn't see it, or at least doesn't say anything to her.

Joel turns his head to look toward the front and continue on the path they are following. "Well, kiddo, I wish to know what you were thinking about, because you did it for a long time. I almost thought that you fell asleep back there," he says with a small laugh at the end.

"Well, I don't think that you'd be interested in what I was thinking…" she blushes again. "Anyway… are we there yet?" says Ellie, looking around and trying to keep her mind distracted with other things.

After a few minutes, Joel stops the horse and starts to look around. "Okay… I think this is a good spot to start to look for that pine tree. Besides, the snow is getting too deep for the horse. So it's better if we leave him here and go on foot."

"Okay, that sounds good," says Ellie, moving back and dismounting. She lands in the snow that now covers half of her boots.

After Ellie moves away from the horse, Joel dismounts as well. He grabs the reins of the horse and gives them to Ellie. "Here, take the horse and tie him to that tree. I'll start to check the area and see if I can find us a good pine tree," Joel says to Ellie, then moves away. Ellie does as she's told, moving the horse to the closest tree and tying him there. After she finishes, Ellie starts to follow Joel's footprints in the snow. She sees him a little bit far away and tries to move faster.

"How do you know which one is going to be a perfect tree for the house?" asks Ellie from the distance. Ellie is curious about that because they've never done this before. She is forcing herself to walk more quickly in the snow until finally she arrives close to him and sees where he's looking. "Wow!... Joel... this is so beautiful."

As soon as Ellie stops beside him, Ellie sees that they are close to the border of a cliff that shows the whole valley down in the distance. "Yeah, the view here is… spectacular, see?" says Joel, pointing down to the valley. "There!... you can even see the whole town from up here."

Ellie looks where Joel is pointing and smiles. Ellie takes Joel's arm and interlaces it with her own, then she puts her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, this is fantastic, Joel, thanks…" She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment. She wants to be transported to that fantasy world of hers again. Her heart is beating faster now, just from being close to him. After a few minutes, she opens her eyes again. "Thanks, Joel… you know... for doing all this for me. I know that the Christmas holiday… it makes you feel sad sometimes. But I wanted to let you know that I'll always be here for you. You make me feel happy, and I want to do the same for you," she says in a lower voice.

Joel turns his head and looks at her. "It's okay, kiddo… doing things that make you happy makes me happy, too." Ellie looks at him and smiles. "C'mon, kiddo, we have a tree to find before nightfall catches us up here." They both turn and start to walk toward the clearing in front of them. Ellie lets go of Joel's arm, but stays walking beside him.

After a few minutes, Ellie asks him, "Where are we going to find us a perfect tree?... all the ones I see are too big." Ellie is looking around when she notices that Joel has stopped walking.

Joel puts one hand on her shoulder. "There!... I think we found our Christmas tree." Ellie turns her head and looks in the direction Joel is looking. "So, what do you think?... It's the right size, and it ain't too wide," he says, looking at the 6-feet-tall pine tree.

"Joel…! I think it's perfect!" answers Ellie with a smile on her face.

Joel claps his hands and starts to move forward. "Okay, this one it is…" He stops after he gets close to the tree and turns around to look at Ellie. "Ellie, go back to the horse and bring me the small axe and the rope." Ellie nods and walks away. Joel starts to walk again until he is in front of the pine tree and starts to check it out.

Ellie walks toward the horse, and as soon as she gets to him, she opens the bag that they brought with them. They brought some snacks and the tools they're going to need to cut and carry the tree back with them. Also, they brought some extra weapons, just in case some infected or hunters decide to show up and try to ruin the day. She passes her hand on top of the horse. "Don't worry, girl, we'll be back home soon." Ellie takes out the long rope and the small axe, then goes back where Joel is with the pine tree that he's going to cut. "Here!... but I don't think that the axe is going to help you much with the tree, now that I look a it," says Ellie, kneeling beside him in front of the tree.

"Thanks, kiddo, let's try anyway to see if this works." Joel takes the axe in one hand and puts the rope on the snow beside him. He tries to cut the pine tree with the small axe, but it's difficult to do it in that position, so he stops after a few tries. "I think you're right - the tree is too small for this."

Joel passes the ax to her. "Okay, go to the horse and bring me the saw, maybe that will work better. Even though with that, it's going to take me more time to do it."

Ellie stands up and smiles. _Yay!... more time here means more time with Joel alone._ Ellie feels her cheeks get red again, so she walks away before Joel notices. She goes back to the horse and comes back a few minutes later with the things Joel needs. "Here you go," says Ellie as she passes the small saw to Joel. She moves back as Joel gets down on his knees and starts to cut the tree. "How long is that going to take?" she asks him with hope that he'll say a long time.

Joel stops for a moment and looks at her. "I dunno, kiddo!... maybe half an hour!?... this saw is not too sharp for this." Then he turns and starts to cut again.

Ellie moves back a little and starts looking at him… at how the muscles of his arms move. She continues looking at him, but now more at his ass. Ellie starts to daydream again while watching Joel work. She thinks about Joel and her being in his room laying on his bed under the sheet… naked and touching each other. She wakes up from her daydream as soon as she realizes what she's thinking about. _What the fuck, girl?_ She looks to the side, feeling the heat in her cheeks. Her face is red as a tomato. She doesn't understand why she's thinking about Joel like that. She's not suppose to think about that, because Joel is taking care of her and loves her like a daughter... right? She loves him too, but she never saw him as a father. Yeah, he was a father figure to her at first, but all that changed. Ellie never had someone that loves her like Joel does, so maybe that is why she's been feeling so different. She feels something that she doesn't understand, something that makes her body feel… like it's going to explode every time he touches her or is close to her. Even now, her heart is beating really fast… and butterflies in her stomach. She needs to stop thinking about Joel that way, so she needs a distraction. "Do you need any help?" she asks just to take her mind away from those thoughts.

"It's all good, don't worry, kiddo… I'll finish this in no time," he answers without looking at her.

Ellie looks at his back again - and tries not to stare at his ass. "So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" she asks.

"I dunno, kiddo… go to check the horse or play with the snow… whatever you like."

 _Play with the snow?... how fucking old does he think I am... 8?_ Ellie almost screams in her head. She starts to move around. She needs something to distract herself before she starts to think about naked Joel again. After a moment, she starts to look at the snow. _So you want me to play with the snow, humm._ With an evil smile on her face, Ellie moves down and starts to gather some snow in her hands until she forms a few snowballs. Then she looks at Joel and throws it at his back.

"What the hell… Ellieee!" Joel turns around and looks at her.

"What?" She just puts her hands behind her back while she looks at him with an innocent face.

"What do you think you're doing?" Joel looks at her with a surprised expression.

Ellie moves side to side in an innocent way. "Well… you said... that I can play with the snow… sooo," then she moves her hands from behind her back and throws another snowball at Joel, hitting him on the chest. Joel starts to look at the snow on him, and hears her giggles.

"Shit, Ellie… I didn't mean like-" he is interrupted when another snowball hits him in the face. "Ohhhh… you're on, girl..." he grabs some snow and throws it at her. Ellie starts to run away when she sees him preparing another snowball. She runs until she gets behind a tree and starts to grab more snow. Joel makes a few snowballs and runs after her. "You're going to pay for this, kiddo… not even Tommy won against me when we were kids." He gets close to the tree and throws one of the snowballs at Ellie, hitting her on the back. Ellie starts to giggle again, and moves away from the tree.

"That was when?... a hundred years ago?" she teases him while she makes more snowballs and throws them at him; Joel dodges them and does the same. Both of them continue to evade the snowballs, laughing. They continue like that for a little while until they stop throwing snow and Joel starts chasing her. "What's the matter, old man… can't catch a girl?" Ellie says, hiding behind a tree.

Joel tries to catch her from the other side of the tree, but Ellie moves away. "Oh, I will… and when I have you in my hands, you will pay." Joel moves around the tree and goes after her. The snow is a little deep, so it's difficult to run faster.

Ellie moves behind another tree to stay away from Joel. But Joel's words go into her mind in the wrong way. _Ohhh… Joel, I'd really love to be in your hands, and wait for what you're going to do with me… wait, what?... c'mon, Ellie, stay away from those thoughts._ As Ellie gets distracted, Joel makes a quick move on her. As soon as Ellie sees him, she tries to run away, but Joel moves fast and grabs her by the arm.

"Caught you!" Joel pulls her close to him as Ellie tries to get away from him. But as soon as they collide, both of them fall down in the snow. They start to roll to the side, laughing as Ellie tries to escape his hold. When they finish rolling, Ellie ends up with her back in the snow and Joel on top of her. She tries to push Joel away, but he pins her to the ground so she can't escape. After a few minutes of trying to move Joel away, he grabs both of her arms and moves his body closer to hers, so that way, she can't move. "You gave me a good run, but I caught you in the end." Ellie tries to move, but she can't do anything. "Now you're mine!" says Joel with an evil smile on his face.

More words that go into Ellie's mind the wrong way. Ellie is speechless for the first time. She can feel Joel's body on top of hers, and somehow, it feels good. Joel's face is so close to hers that she can feel his breath on her face. She is panting faster now, and her body is tingling on the inside. Both of them stay staring into each other's eyes, for like an eternity.

Joel's lips are getting closer to hers, and time feels like it's passing in slow motion. Ellie is surprised at how close Joel is to her... she is waiting for the time to move faster, and feel Joel's lips on hers. _Yesss!... C'mon, Joel, I want you to kiss me… please just do it already._ She doesn't know why she wants that, but she does. Her body and mind are filled with emotion, waiting for the kiss. Waiting for Joel to finally make the first move. She's been waiting for this for some time now. But just before their lips touch, the horse makes some noise, and that takes them both out of that magical trance.

Joel realizes what he was about to do, so he moves his head away from Ellie as fast as he can. "Sorry!...I, I... I'm so sorry, I don't-" Joel starts to say while he starts to move away from Ellie. As soon as Joel gets up, Ellie lets out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. Joel finally stands up on his feet and looks at her nervously. "Are you okay?... I mean- umm- I didn't- hurt you, right?"

Ellie looks at him with a confused face, but decides not to say anything about what just happened. "Yes!... I mean no, I'm fine… I'm fine, Joel… you didn't hurt me." She is trying to calm herself.

"That's great… I just- let me help you up." He extends his hand to her.

"It's okay, Joel. I want to stay here for a moment, if you don't mind."

Joel gives her a curious look, but moves his hand away and tries to avoid her eyes. "Okay, kiddo, but it's getting late... So I think that it's better if I finish cutting down the tree. So we can go back to town before dark." Joel moves away from her and walks toward the pine tree he was cutting before. Ellie stays laying on the snow, with her hand on her chest and looking at the sky.

Ellie closes her eyes for a moment as she tries to calm herself down. _Shit!... what the hell just happened?... And why did I want Joel to kiss me so bad?_ she says to herself. A few minutes later, Ellie starts to get up. As soon as Ellie is on her feet, she looks at Joel, wanting to talk with him, but then decides to walk away and go back to where she left the horse. She is trying to understand what just happened a few minutes earlier, but she can't. So for now, it's better if she doesn't talk about this and stays away from Joel until he finishes cutting down the tree.

After he finishes, he brings the tree to where the horse is and ties it up. Then both of them mount the horse and start their way back home. The way home is silent; Ellie doesn't talk much and Joel doesn't talk at all. As soon as they get back home, they put the tree in the living room and act like it's a normal day. They eat and change... after that, they work together on the tree. They're laughing a little while they put up the lights and some other things that Ellie found for the tree. After they finish, they go to the couch and watch a Christmas movie that Tommy gave them last year.

( End of Flashback )

Ellie takes another sip of her drink that for some reason tastes better now. She is watching as some new dancing people join the dance floor.

"Ellie… Ellie!" the man beside her starts to call her.

Ellie is taken out of her staring at the dance floor and looks at the young man beside her. "WHAT?" she answers with an angry tone.

The man moves away from her a little. "I just wondered where is your old- I mean, where is Joel. Because he always comes to this party with you."

"Yeah, well, he had a shift on the south wall tonight, so I guess that he's going to come later. Besides, he doesn't really like these things too much... he only come to them for me," she says with a sad voice.

"Well, maybe that's not so bad... I mean, if this is the first time that you came to the Christmas party without him. Maybe you can do other things, like dance with other people, or-" He stops when he looks at her facial expression. He takes a sip from his own drink and looks at the dance floor.

Ellie turns and looks at him. "Can you not talk about Joel anymore... please?... I don't even know why you want to talk about him. I thought you hated him because he makes you work hard on the construction team."

The man looks at her. "I don't really hate him… I mean, yeah, he's difficult sometimes, but- anyway, are you enjoying the party so far?"

"Yeahhh…I'm having a blast," Ellie says sarcastically, then turns back to the dance floor while she takes another sip of her drink.

Conor finishes his drink and puts the glass on the counter. "Look, I know that you don't like to talk much and that you're a little sad because Joel isn't here yet. But this is a party, and you don't need to be like this. So, what do you think if… we go in there and dance a little… humm... what do you say?" the man says, trying to cheer her up a little.

Ellie takes a deep breath, then looks at him. "Look, I know what you're trying to do... okay. But I'm not in the mood right now." _Besides, the only person that I really want to dance with tonight is Joel. But he's not even here,_ she thinks sadly.

"Ohhhh... c'mon, just once, I know that you're going to feel better after-" he is interrupted.

"Hey Conor, do you want to dance?" says a girl, walking close to them.

"Hey Cindy… well, I was going to ask- heeey… what are you doing?" he asks the girl as soon as she starts to pull him toward the dance floor.

The girl just giggles. "What do you think I'm doing… I'm kidnapping you, silly…" She turns and looks at Ellie. "You don't mind, right?" she giggles again.

Ellie looks at her, and not in a happy way. "Nope!… he's all yours." Then she takes another sip of her drink.

The man's name is Conor Wong and he's 22. He was going to say something to Ellie, but Cindy beats him to it. "Thanks... Ellie, right?" she says, pulling Conor away from the bar and toward the dance floor. But before they get there, she speaks again. "Oh, give my regards to Joel and tell him that Cindy said hi…" She says the last part in a sexy way, then walks away with the young man.

Ellie looks at her with a disgusted expression. She doesn't really like this girl. Ellie doesn't know her well, only that she is 20 and works on the farm. _What the fuck… is she kidding me?... who the hell does she think she is... That fucking bitch._ Ellie doesn't talk to her much; also, she's been trying to avoid her since she started to have a suspicion that Cindy's been trying to make Joel interested in her. She is only 20 so what the hell does she want with Joel? Ellie just gets angry any time she sees her, so seeing her right now makes her down the rest of her drink. Somehow, Ellie is glad that Joel is not there yet, because if that girl tried to get Joel to dance with her, Ellie would clean the whole floor with her face. Ellie tries not to think about that now, so she turns around and asks the man for another drink.

( One hour later )

Ellie is finishing her third drink and the alcohol is starting to kick in. She is still waiting for Joel to arrive at the party. Ellie is thinking about asking for another; getting drunk is better than feeling sad. She gets some greetings from a few people she knows. Even Tommy and Maria came to the bar and asked for Joel. Now she looks at a new couple that just entered the dance floor. She doesn't remember their names, but knows that the man is 45 and the woman is 23. She heard that they're planning on getting married next year. And even though some people don't like the match, they don't seem to care about that. Ellie sees how happy they look, so she starts to wonder if Joel and her can be like that someday. She's not sure about Joel wanting to be like that, but she would like that very much.

After the music stops and another song starts, Ellie decides that being here without Joel isn't fun at all. Also, drinking too much isn't helping, so Ellie decides to get out of there. Ellie isn't sure where to go. She can go back to the house or go to the wall and look for Joel. Ellie walks through the town a little before deciding to just go home. Most of the people are at the party, the rest are home or on their watch shift, so no one is in the street. Ellie quickly regrets not having a winter coat, because tonight is very cold. She starts to walk faster, so that way, she can get home and make a fire to warm up. But before she gets there, she starts to think.

 _Maybe going to the south wall first is a good idea. Check if Joel's still there, and try to talk to him. I can't imagine why Joel didn't show up at the party or why he's been acting so distant toward me lately. I know that he still loves me in a way… right? and that he still wants to be with me. But since that day in the forest, things are a little different. He must think I'm a freak, and maybe I am. Maybe I am a crazy person for wanting to be with him and loving him like that. I don't know why I think about Joel all the time now, or wanted him to kiss me that day. Watching those couples dancing like they don't care what people say… it makes me think how bad I want that._

 _Joel never treated me like a daughter. Well, maybe at first, but not after we got our own house. So I wonder if that's the only way he sees me now. Maybe he thinks that I'm too young and he is too old to have a different kind of relationship. But I don't care about that, I love him… and now more than ever. But what can I do? What if he only thinks of me like a daughter? I don't want him to be like a father - I want him as a man. I want him to love me as a woman, not as his daughter. I want him to kiss me, make love to me, and I want to spend the rest of our lives together as a couple. And maybe someday, be his wife. I wish things were different, but they're not. So what am I supposed to do with all these feelings that are eating me now?_

Before Ellie realizes it, she finds herself in front of their house. And when she looks at it, she notices that there's some illumination coming from inside the house. It has to be the fireplace, but she doesn't remember leaving that up before she went to the party. So that means that Joel must be home. She smiles a little, but soon that changes to a sad expression. What is she going to do, what is she going to say to him? In some ways, she is mad at him for not showing up to the party, but on the other hand, she only wants to get in there and hold him, and kiss him. Ellie's not sure what to do, but one thing is certain: she needs to talk to him and let him know how she feels.

Ellie takes a deep breath and opens the door. She walks inside, closing the door behind her. There's no light on in the house, just the illumination coming from the fire in the fireplace. Ellie starts to look around but doesn't see Joel in the living room. As she doesn't see him in there, she thinks that maybe he's on the second floor. Maybe in his room or in the shower. So Ellie starts to walk toward the stairs, but as soon as she gets close to it, she hears someone coming out of the kitchen.

"Good night, kiddo, is the party over already?" asks Joel, entering the living room.

Ellie turns around and looks at him. "Oh, you're home… But if you want to know - no, Joel, it's not over yet… and if you want to know why I'm here early, it's because I didn't have any fun there…" she says with a hard tone.

"Really? I thought that all your friends were going to be there... so what happened?" Joel walks close to the fire and kneels in front of it.

Ellie's expression becomes sadder. "Yeah, some of my friends were there. But not the person that I was waiting for," she tells him, but she is trying to hold back her tears from coming out.

Joel knows who she is talking about, but doesn't know what to tell her, or how to let her know the reason why he wasn't there. "Well, it's late, kiddo, and tomorrow is Christmas, maybe it's better if we go-"

"Joel!… why didn't you show up at the party?" Joel turns his head and looks at her. "What the hell happened…? You were supposed to be there with me… and you never showed up," Ellie says sadly.

Joel gets on his feet and walks toward her. "Sorry, baby girl, but you knew that I had a shift tonight… remember?... I wanted to go, but I just arrived home 20 minutes ago and… I'm sorry."

Ellie turns around and walks close to the fireplace, with a sad face. "Yeah, Joel, I know that you had a shift on the wall… a shift that you didn't need to do today. Tommy had all that covered, so why did you need to do that?" Some tears start forming in her eyes; she wipes them away before Joel sees them. Ellie is trying to find the way to tell Joel how she feels, and why him not showing up hurt so much. Ellie doesn't know what is going to happen after tonight, but she needs to get all those emotions out. So after thinking for a few minutes, she turns and looks at him. "Joel… there is something I need to tell you." She moves a little closer to him. "Two weeks ago, back in the forest," she starts, but lowers her head. "I need to know if you were going to kiss me when we were playing in the snow?"

Joel turns away from her. He remembers that day... that day has been tormenting him for the last two weeks. "Ellie!" he says, ashamed. "I'm sorry for what happened there, I don't know what came over me and- I… sorry," he says, lowering his head and looking at the floor.

Ellie moves closer until she is in front of him. "Joel... you don't need to be sorry for that. Because… in a way, I wanted you to do it."

"What?" says Joel, lifting his head and looking at her. "But...but that ain't right. Ellie, I shouldn't do that… hell, I shouldn't even think about doing that with you."

Ellie smiles a little. _So you really want to do it umm!_ "It's okay, Joel. Like I said, I wanted you to do it… because I love you."

Joel opens his eyes wider. "Ellie, I think that you're confused. But that's my fault… I should not-"

Ellie grabs his face and lowers him to her level, and presses her lips on his. Joel is taken by surprise, but doesn't break the kiss. After a minute, Ellie moves away. "I love you, Joel... more than I'm supposed to. I know what you're going to say, but this isn't a mistake or a crush. I don't know what's going to happen now. But I can't keep this to myself anymore," Ellie says in a lower voice, then looks at the floor.

Joel looks at her, not knowing what to do or say. He loves her too, more than he's supposed to. But she is too young, and he is too old for her. But no matter what he does, this is going to change everything between them. So what is he going to do? Follow his heart, or do what he knows is the right thing to do, the decent thing to do. After a few minutes, he makes his choice.

Joel moves one hand to grab Ellie's chin, and tilts her head up. He looks in her eyes and sees some tears there. And without saying anything, he lowers his head and kisses her back. That catches Ellie by surprise, but it's a welcome one. As soon as she feels his lips on hers, she moves her hands behind his head to deepen the kiss. Ellie opens her mouth to feel the kiss more. It's the best sensation she's ever felt before. At that moment, Ellie starts to remember the time when she kissed Riley, but that was a completely different thing. Yes, Riley was her first love back then, but they didn't have time to move forward on that. She thought that she liked only girls back then, but now she is sure that she loves Joel. Maybe if she hadn't died, things would be different, and sometimes she feels guilty about that.

But she chose to live, even after Joel told her what he did a few years ago. She was mad at Joel for what he did, especially about Marlene. But she chose to stay with him, even if he gave her the option to go and find the Fireflies again and finish her original mission. But she chose him - chose to live, and right now, she doesn't regret any of that. The kiss seems to last forever, but they need air at some point, and Joel is the first to move away. He puts his forehead against hers and takes a big breath. "I don't know if this is the right choice… but I love you, too."

Ellie smiles at that. "I don't know if this is the right choice either… but God, I really want to find out. Thanks, Joel, I think this is the best Christmas... that I'm ever going to have." Her heart is beating so fast that it feels like it's going to jump out of her chest.

Joel smiles a little, then moves his head away so he can see her face. It's now a completely different one; now he can see her happiness, and that makes him happy, too. He doesn't know what's going to happen now. But he is sure that he is going to find out. "Do you think that this is a good idea... I mean, what we're going to do now?"

Ellie looks him directly in the eye. "Do you love me?" she asks directly.

Joel looks at her. "Yes!... I do," he answers without any doubt.

"Then we're going to be fine… If we love each other, it doesn't matter what is going to happen after tonight. Our love is the most important thing, no matter what." She moves close again and kisses him more passionately than before.

After they end the long kiss, Joel speaks again. "Are you sure about this?... I mean, this is what you really want?... because you know what is going to happen when people find out."

"I don't care about that, Joel… I love you and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Yes, but I'm too old for you and people would-" Joel starts, but is silenced by Ellie's finger on

his lips.

Ellie moves her finger away and looks at him. "You're not that old, Joel, and If that doesn't matter to me, I don't see why it should to other people. What we do is our concern, not anyone else's." Joel sees the determination in her eyes, and that makes him love her even more. The clock bell from the town plaza starts to ring, indicating that it's midnight. Both of them walk to the window and look outside. They see snow start falling on the street. "It seems like it's going to be a white Christmas," she says with a big smile on her face.

They stay looking at the snow falling for a few minutes, then turn to look at each other. "Well, it's late, it's better to go up and get some sleep."

Ellie looks directly in his eyes and smiles. "Ohhhh... we're going to go to bed alright, but I don't think that we're going to get any sleep tonight."

Joel looks a little confused. "Ellie… what do you mean by that?"

"Weeeell... I think it's time to give you my Christmas present." Then Ellie grabs his hand and drags him up the stairs.

"Ellie… I don't think that-"

"Shhhhh!..." she makes the gesture of putting her finger on her lips, then continues up the stairs. "Don't worry, Joel, I will be gentle… I promise. I'm going to make sure that this will be the best Christmas you ever had," she says with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I see that this was a very unexpected Christmas," answers Joel with a smile on his face too.

* * *

 **The End...**

 **A/N:** **Thank you for read this story and I hope you liked. Remember to left a review or a comment if you like. Merry Christmas and happy new year to all of you.**


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